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New York Giants Reader Mailbag: "Weekend Mix" Edition

Let's check in with the readers to see what's on their minds.
Patricia Traina|
New York Giants Reader Mailbag: "Weekend Mix" Edition
New York Giants Reader Mailbag: "Weekend Mix" Edition

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New York Giants

If you'd like to submit a question for the mailbag, please use this link to avoid having your question land in spam. You may also post your questions on X (formerly known as Twitter) to @Patricia_Traina, hashtag #askPTrain. Please note that letters may be edited for clarity/length.

(From Mike G.) It seemed like the Giants made a lot of mental errors and didn’t seem well-coached much of the season. To me, that all starts with the head coach. How does an organization “self-scout” or review that type of stuff? Does the GM or his staff review the coaching and critique performance?

Mike, I'm not sure of the exact method the Giants use, but historically, they will go back and review tape from every game and from practices to identify trends that need correcting. This is done in a group setting, sometimes with the defensive coaches evaluating the offensive coaches and vice versa. Again, I'm not sure how they do it under Brian Daboll, but I would imagine it's pretty similar.

(From Ed. R.) If the Giants don't use the franchise tag again in Barkley, will he be an unrestricted free agent? Will the Giants get a compensatory pick if he signs elsewhere?

Ed, technically, Barkley is a free agent until such time he signs a new deal. The franchise tag serves as a way to discourage teams from extending an offer to him, but unless he receives the exclusive tag, other teams wanting him could reach out to him with an offer. Typically, you don't see that once a player receives the franchise tag.

(From Mike G.) Once DeVito was inserted, would it have been wise to bring in a true fullback to aid in pass protection plus help open holes for Barkley? A two-back set worked pretty well in the glory days!

Mike, I have to confess that I always wondered why the Giants hadn't carried a fullback under this staff, if I recall correctly, they did carry one in Buffalo. I suppose they believe that having a tight end takes on that lead-blocking role, but I didn't think it worked last year for them.

(From Dan M.) Patricia, do you think the Giants should go after Derrick Henry in free agency if available? After this season's results, do you think Daboll can still coach this team, given his temper tantrums?

No to your first question. I'd rather they keep Saquon Barkley if they spend big money on a running back.

And yes, to your second question, but with an asterisk. Look, the NFL isn't for the faint of heart. If you're going to be thin-skinned to where your feelings get hurt every time the head coach blows up, go into another line of work. Daboll, in the past, has spoken about his temper and how it's never personal, that the outbursts are in the heat of the moment. If they become personal to the point where he's penalizing people outside of the playing field, that's a problem.

And here's the other thing. Would you rather they have a coach who was soft and who didn't set expectations? When hired, Tom Coughlin was a hard-nosed coach whose ways soured many people, including the players. He changed and became more player-friendly, and the rest is history.

Daboll has always been about building relationships with his players--I witnessed him in the locker room on Baggy Day hugging guys goodbye, thanking them for their efforts, and telling them he loved them. His mandate to his staff is to put those guys in the best position to succeed, and if that's not happening, then isn't Daboll within his right to speak up?

That said, blowing a gasket cannot benefit anyone's health. So, to that end, I would hope Daboll mellows out just a bit and maybe changes up his approach to where, instead of popping off, he just asks a question of his staff when things don't go wrong. They are all adults, after all, and I know if I were in their shoes, I'd much rather the coach come to me and ask what I was doing/thinking than cuss me out.

That's a big change as Daboll is probably set in his ways, but if he's committed to being a better head coach as he says he is, then it's a necessary change.

(From Neil F.) Do you think the Giants have the personnel on the defense to be successful under a new coordinator who is not blitz-happy?

To be determined, Neil. Let's see who they hire, and then we can address that question.

(From Matt P.) I still feel that after Justin Pugh arrived, he helped solidify the offensive line's cohesiveness, and they started to play quite a bit better together after Daniel Jones was knocked out. Thus, the quarterback play was better between Tyrod and Tommy DeVito.

The offensive line was horrendous when Jones was in there and the first few games that Tyrod played. He was not any better and got knocked out of the game as well. He did have a few more deep passes down the field, but I think Jones was shell-shocked, and that’s why he tried to get rid of the ball so quickly and looked bad.

I still think if he has a decent offensive line, he will be a really good quarterback and can overcome his poor play from the beginning of the season.

Matt, you said the quarterback play was better between Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito (DeVito averaged 3.09 seconds to throw, which means many of the sacks he took were more on him than the offensive line.) Why was neither DeVito nor Taylor shell-shocked playing behind a bad line? Could it be that both processed what they saw quicker post-snap and made better decisions?

And are we forgetting how people were screaming about how bad the offensive line was last year when Jones played better? Look, I wanted him to succeed. I did. For whatever reason, he regressed. He went back to staring down receivers, missing reads and wide-open players, overthrowing players, and forcing balls into spots where he should have. The neck injury he had is now a concern, as is whether he's going to lose anything speed-wise due to the torn ACL.

Can we please stop with the excuses and admit it's not working out here for the young man?

(From Peter M.) If Mike Kafka does not get a head coaching gig, do you think the Giants would allow him to interview for a lateral move with another team (once the head coaches are settled)? If Daboll plans to take a bigger role in the offense, it may make sense.

I could see that happening, yes. If Brian Daboll wants to take away the play calling from him, that's within his right to do so at any time--they don't have to necessarily push Kafka out the door to pave the way for such a switch. And since it would be a demotion, it would stand to reason that if he were to go to another team to call plays, that would be a promotion, right?

(From Don M.) Do you think Daboll's volatile behavior towards his assistants will be detrimental to landing one of the top assistant coaches available with so many good openings available, and do you think Mara will talk to Daboll about his behavior since he was not very tolerance with judges outburst and said such behavior was not the Giant way?

Don, I've said this before and will say it again. If you're going to be thin-skinned to where getting yelled at hurts your feelings, then go find another line of work.

That said, I would hope Daboll would tone it down as popping a cork is isn't good for his health and doesn't accomplish anything, in my opinion. Does he not think that coaches don't see when there is a screw-up? If you're giving everyone ownership of the program, then allow them the ownership to acknowledge a shortcoming without getting put on full blast.

(From James P and Brian K.) Why not mention the O-Line? The Giants had one of the worst in the league, and all the offensive weapons in the world mean nothing if there are no lanes to run through or your QB is constantly on his back.

Thanks for the question, guys. I do think additional depth is necessary for the offensive line, specifically at wing tackle, but I get the impression that they're going to see if new offensive line coach Carmen Bricillo can work some magic with Evan Neal and the two young guards (Joshua Ezeudu and Marcus McKethan).

(From Pete M.) One of your concerns/criticisms this past season was the Giant's constant rotation on the line in both pre-season and during the season. In the season, a lot of the rotation was injury-related, but the pre-season rotation was not, and you had concerns/criticisms about that and how it affected their ability to build cohesion among the line players.

Do you have concerns that he may do just that? He consistently puts players in different positions, again leading to what you had concerns about last year: the inability to form cohesion on the line.

Pete, I said I didn't mind the cross-training. That's par for the course. But the cross-training went right up until the first week of the season, and it kept the eventual starting line from building cohesiveness. That's what I objected to, not the cross-training itself.

Sergio, I think that kind of talk is premature, to be honest. We will get a better feel for what the Giants might do once we get to the combine and then through the initial two weeks of free agency. Right now, I would think everything is on the table.

No. He has guaranteed money owed to him this year. A pay cut will just make his dead money hit even worse.  

Ed, what I view as their top priorities and what they view as their priorities will vary and probably change over the coming weeks as they get updates on guys who underwent postseason surgery. I would say edge rusher depth, cornerback, offensive tackle, quarterback, and a No. 1 receiver would be at the top of my list. How they address those needs will be interesting.

T, I can't speak for anyone other than myself. I'd rather be right than first. Think back to all the news stories that have broken. With very few exceptions, I'd be willing to bet you can't remember who was first with breaking news (unless you do a search to uncover that).  

As I understand it, any potential new hires are introduced to the current staff, and Daboll solicits feedback from his staff. He decides on who he wants to hire. In that regard, I don't believe the process has changed.

Interesting question, Thomas. I think social media has opened up the channels for fans to mingle with reporters and athletes, which puts them closer to the action, so to speak. I think fans are smart enough to discern who is the real deal and who just fishes for clicks. I personally don't have a problem with it. As I see it, people can choose who they want to follow and believe.  

Different circumstances. Coughlin didn't really go out of his way to form relationships with the players; therefore, when he popped his cork at them, they saw him in a negative light. Daboll has prioritized building relationships to where I believe the players understand if he pops off at them, it's not personal. As I have already said, for the sake of his health, I would hope that he learns how to be calmer, as I'd hate to see him blow a gasket and suffer a medical emergency as a result.

Besides more wins? Progress. I would hope the players are better and performing more cohesively by the end of next season than they were at the beginning.

(From Joe G.) All the Giant fans in my circle agree. We have all been Giant fans for over 50 + years. One thing we can't understand is some people calling to spend our 1st round pick on a QB. We don't need a QB. We all agree that with the poor play from the OL, allowing sacks, pressures, and hits, the statements of DJ regression do not have true merit.

With over ten years of bad OL play, it's time to fix the OL once and for all. Let's draft the OT and let him and Neal battle it out for RT, with the loser moving to guard and backup tackle. We also have a high need for a #2 CB, a #1 WR, a pass rusher, a DT, another OG, and our need perhaps an RB if Barkley leaves. Our need for a QB is a low priority, at least for now. We want to win, NOW, and drafting a QB to sit on the bench watching while DJ gets beat up is not a formula for winning.

Joe Daniel Jones has not had a solid offensive line since he was named a starter. In all that time, Jones has NEVER looked like he did this year when more was put on his plate. I don't know about you, but I'm tired of him being limited to the first read. I'm tired of the slow post-snap processing that leads to balls being off-target.

If you are convinced that the offensive line was the problem, why did Tyrod Taylor and Tommy DeVito have better success moving the offense up and down the field and getting them into the end zone? Explain to me why Jones had one good half of football behind the "bad offensive line" you think needs fixing but was otherwise part of five blowouts in which he couldn't move the offense.

I think it's fair to say there is growing concern over him not having answers to slow down the chase and being easy to defend about his injury history --two neck issues in three years and now the knee issue, which one can only imagine how that might affect his ability to run.

Joe, look, everyone is entitled to an opinion regardless of how long one has followed this team. The bottom line is that we're STILL debating what Daniel Jones is, and that's concerning. It's not his fault this isn't working out.

The Giants have a chance to press the reset button and get a kid on a rookie deal, which is what they should have done after 2022 (and probably would have had they not had the season they did, which pushed them down the draft order).

We'll see if Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll agree--maybe they do, or maybe they feel that another OT, CB, WR1, or edge rusher will make more of an impact and that Jones is salvageable. Maybe they feel that if they're going to go down swinging, they want to go down with their guy. Whatever they decide, I'll get behind because it's their choice, and I'm just here to see how it all works out, hoping that it works out for the best.

(From Pat S.) Related to your salary cap show, why is it that if the base salary is converted to a signing bonus, the team has to pay even more money?

Pat, let me explain using an example. If Joe Smith has a four-year contract with an $8 million signing bonus, that bonus prorates to $2 million per year over the contract's life. (Signing bonuses can only be prorated for up to five years.)

Now, if Joe Smith, in Year 2 of the deal, has a $10 million base salary, and the team converts $6 million of that into a signing bonus, that means an additional $2 million gets dumped in the remaining prorated years (Years 2-4). So, while the team saves cap space in Year 2, the prorated part increases, and hence, if the team cuts Joe after Year 2, the dead money hit increases.

 

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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